Preparation of certain foods and beverages can involve blending, whipping, stirring, etc. the food or beverage using a rotary blade or mixer.
Methods and systems for making frozen drinks are described in patent numbers U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,377, U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,060, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,047, U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,034, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,862, U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,207 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,150, which are commonly-owned with the present application and which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents describes an apparatus which allows milkshakes and other frozen drinks to be quickly made by breaking up pre-frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles using a rotating blade, and blending them with an added liquid also using the rotating blade. The ingredients to be frozen into frozen blocks are pre-mixed in liquid form, placed into serving cups which are the same serving cups in which the finished milkshake or frozen drinks are to be served, and then frozen into blocks conforming to the insides of the serving cups and stored.
According to the prior patents, when a milkshake or other frozen drink is to be made, a serving cup containing the frozen block is positioned in a cup holder which forms a part of the frozen drink machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and bores through the frozen substance in the cup, grinding it into small frozen particles. Milk, water, or another liquid is added to the cup and is blended into the frozen substance by the rotating blade. The rotating blade also whips air into the frozen particle mixture in order to give the milkshake or frozen drink its proper volume, texture, and flavor delivery.
In this and other contexts, it is desirable to provide a container for a frozen drink (or other food or beverage) which may be supported in a cup holder while the ingredients the container inside are processed, and which is restrained against rotation which would otherwise be caused by the action of the rotating blade or other processing tool. It is further desirable to provide a container having an anti-rotation feature and which container is further suitable for serving directly to customers after its removal from the cup holder.
Various solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,961 ('691 patent), which is also commonly owned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. In one of the illustrated embodiments, that patent shows a cup bottom having an anti-rotation pattern extending from its lower surface. The patent shows in FIGS. 1 and 2 a pattern formed of six arcuate ridges radiating from a center portion of the cup bottom. The patent shows corresponding anti-rotation features, shown in FIG. 5 as a pattern of six radiating ribs, on the support upon which the cup sits during processing of the beverage within the cup. Because of the six-ridge/six-rib patterns, the illustrated embodiment creates six areas of contact between the anti-rotation pattern on the cup bottom and the anti-rotation features of the support. Each ridge on the cup bottom includes a sloped side wall that acts as a self aligning mechanism, so that if a cup is placed onto the support and the sloped side wall contacts the corresponding rib before the cup is fully seated, the angled wall causes the cup to twist slightly so that the cup slides into a fully engaged position within the anti-rotation pattern in the cup holder.
In a further modification put into commercial use, the number of anti-rotation elements on the cup support (not shown) was reduced to two members 48 or ribs spaced 180° as shown in FIG. 1, while the anti-rotation pattern 102 on the cup 100 remained at six ridges 104. Obviously, given the 180° spacing between the ribs, the pair of the ridges that are engaged by the ribs are likewise spaced 180°, giving balanced, symmetrical, restriction against rotation while imparting evenly balanced loads to the cup's anti-rotation pattern. Distributing/balancing the loads prevents damage to the cup during use and allows thinner walls to be used in the anti-rotation features of the cup, thus minimizing resin costs in the manufacture of the cup.
On occasion, the prior art cup of FIG. 1 will seat against the members 48 in a manner that prevents the cup from advancing fully onto the cup support. This positions the cup higher onlin the cup support than is intended, causing the interior of the cup bottom to be damaged by the mixing element processing the contents of the cup. The risk that the cup will be improperly positioned in this way is greatest in situations where consumers place the cup in the cup holder for themselves in a self-serve setting. Because these consumers are not aware of the need to be sure the cup fully advances into the cups support, it is important that the possibility of the lack of such full advancement be eliminated. To this end, the applicant has developed a new anti-rotation arrangement that promotes more consistent seating of the cup within the cup support.